The present invention relates to a reversible child resistant cap. Specifically, the invention relates to a cap which may be applied to a vial or other container in one of two positions, the first being a child resistant position and the second being a non-child resistant position. The child resistant position provides an obstacle to children being able to remove the cap from the container, whilst the non-child resistant position allows for ready removal of the cap from the container. The present invention also provides a reversible child resistant cap and container assembly.
There are many varying types of child resistant closure systems disclosed in the art. An example of a particular type of child resistant closure system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,078, which relates to a combination of a container and safety cap. The aforementioned patent is herein incorporated by reference.
While many child resistant caps effectively provide protection against the danger of small children being able to remove potentially harmful pills from vials or other containers, they also provide a problem for a considerable portion of the adult population that require medication, however, lack the manual dexterity or strength to remove the child resistant cap. This is of a particular concern to the elderly population or people suffering from arthritis and other disabilitating diseases.
Accordingly, this problem has been addressed by the development of closure systems having a child resistant mode and a non-child resistant mode such that, in the non-child resistant mode, the caps are more easily opened by adults. However, many such caps have a complex, multi part, structure making the caps expensive or the closure systems suffer from the problem of providing an inferior moisture and air barrier when used in the non-child resistant mode. Further, other attempts to develop reversible child resistant closure systems have resulted in caps that when used in their non-child resistant mode tended to come off from the vial or container inadvertently, for example, when being carried in a bag with other articles.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need for a reversible child resistant closure that overcomes the aforementioned deficiencies of the prior art.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a reversible child resistant cap and closure system that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the system particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described, the invention provides a reversible child resistant cap. In the first position, or child resistant position, the cap when applied to a container provides an effective protection against children being able to remove the closure, whilst at the same time allow ready removal of the cap by normal adults. In the second position, or the non-child resistant position, the cap allows for easy removal of the cap from the container even by persons whose ability to use their hands is severely limited.
In another embodiment, the present invention also provides a reversible child resistant closure system, comprising the combination of a container and reversible child resistant cap.
In accordance with the invention, the reversible child resistant cap comprises a closure plane, a circumferential outer skirt for engaging a container, and a circumferential resilient depending inner member. The circumferential outer skirt comprises an upper portion extending in an upward direction from the closure plane and a lower portion extending in a downward direction from the closure plane. The upper portion of the circumferential outer skirt comprises a non-child resistant engaging means for engaging a container. The lower portion of the circumferential outer skirt comprises a child resistant engaging means for engaging a container. The circumferential resilient depending inner member has an outer surface that is tapered from a larger diameter portion adjacent the closure plane to a smaller diameter portion remote from the closure plane.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the reversible child resistant closure system comprises a cap and a container. The cap comprises a closure plane and a circumferential outer skirt for engaging the container and having a circumferential resilient depending inner member. The circumferential outer skirt comprises an upper portion extending in an upward direction from the closure plane and a lower portion extending in a downward direction from the closure plane. The upper portion of the circumferential outer skirt comprises a non-child resistant engaging means for engaging the container. The lower portion of the circumferential outer skirt comprises a child resistant engaging means for engaging the container. The circumferential resilient depending inner member has a tapered outer surface that is tapered from a larger diameter portion adjacent the closure plane to a smaller diameter portion remote from the closure plane. The container has a rigid wall having an engaging end for engagement with the cap. The engaging end of the container has an outer surface for engaging the non-child resistant engaging means of the cap. The engaging end of the container also has an inner surface for engaging the tapered outer surface of the cap to provide a seal and a bias on the cap in a direction of removal of the cap. The container also includes means disposed on the container remotely from the engaging end of the container in cooperative means with the child resistant engaging means of the cap.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.